Investigating variation
in pay in adult social care
Exploring how local conditions, such as deprivation, and local authority processes for buying care, affect pay variations in adult social care.
Research summary
May 2023 – July 2024
This study explores variations in pay for adult social care workers, who deliver care to vulnerable people in their own homes, residential and nursing care homes, or supported accommodation in England.
It explores how:
- pay is affected by local conditions, such as deprivation, and local authority processes for buying care
- pay variations affect workers, for example, leaving their jobs or developing skills
Care worker pay is low, which has a negative impact on recruiting and retaining workers. There are often staffing shortages and this negatively affects the care of those in need and the families/friends who support them. For example, care visits may be short or missed, and there might be many different people delivering care to the same person, which is undesirable. Improving pay, the experiences of care workers, and making sure that care delivered is of high quality is very important.
This research has three parts:
- Part one uses statistics provided by Skills for Care to investigate the factors affecting pay variations, including local authorities’ fee levels and contracting practices, as well as the effect of pay on workers’ outcomes such as skills and retention. It is led by Dr Akbar Ullah of the University of Manchester, a member of the organising care theme of the Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM).
- Part two is a survey of organisations that provide adult social care, which explores their pay practices and identifies good practice. It is led by Professor Carol Woodhams of the University of Surrey.
- Part three involves interviews with managers of care organisations and with care workers to explore their views on pay variations and the consequences for care workers, care recipients and their families. It is led by Dr Gail Hebson from Manchester Met.
Public and community involvement and engagement for this project is led by Dr Will Whittaker of The University of Manchester and deputy lead of the organising care theme in ARC-GM.
Research outputs
Reports
- Investigating pay in adult social care – policy report
- Investigating variation in pay in adult social care – policy briefing
- Investigating variation in pay in adult social care – Full NIHR research report
Video
Investigating variation in pay in adult social care – National Institute for Health and Care Research
Research team
Project lead
Prof Carol Atkinson, Manchester Met
Workstream leads
- Dr Akbar Ullah, The University of Manchester
- Prof Carol Woodhams, University of Surrey
- Dr Gail Hebson, Manchester Met
- Dr Will Whittaker, The University of Manchester
Collaborating with:
- social care policy bodies
- trade unions
- a local authority commissioner
- care providers
- carers
- care workers
- care recipients, their friends and families
- Department of Health and Social Care
- Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM)
With funding from
The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) or the Policy Research Programme.
Project enquiries
If you have questions about this project, you can contact: